Man Utd ‘submit bid’ to sign striker on loan as they swerve paying ‘crazy’ fee for Ten Hag favourite | OneFootball

Man Utd have reportedly ‘submitted a bid’ to sign Vincent Aboubakar on loan until the end of the season from Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.

The Red Devils are understood to be in the market for a new striker following Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure at the end of November.

His exit leaves them with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford as options up front so they could do with at least a short-term addition.

They could have signed Cody Gakpo this month but they decided against moving for him prior to his move to Liverpool.

This is partly for financial reasons as they spent over £200m on new signings in the summer. It is also because Gakpo is seen as more of a natural winger and they arguably require an out-and-out striker.

Man Utd are bound to be linked with several strikers until they sign someone this month.

Given their financial limitations, it looks most likely that they will bring in a forward on a short-term loan before they make a more long-term addition in the summer.

Aboubakar has been mentioned as a possible recruit in recent days as he is likely to fall down the pecking order at Al Nassr following Ronaldo’s arrival.

The 30-year-old scored 58 goals in 125 games for Porto between 2014 and 2020. He then netted 16 goals across all competitions for Besiktas in 2020/21.

The Cameroon international impressed at the World Cup and he has spent the last two seasons at Al Nassr.

Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz (via The Express) are reporting that United have ‘submitted a loan bid’ to Al Nassr to recruit Aboubakar.

But Man Utd are considered ‘the frontrunners’ in the race to sign Aboubakar ‘due to the size and stature of the club’.

A separate report from Ben Jacobs this week revealed that Al Nassr ‘would entertain an offer’ from Man Utd for Aboubakar.

‘Vincent Aboubakar is an example of a left-of-field signing under consideration – he’s 30, partnering Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr at the moment, and there is the feeling that he could be available.

‘There’s been no approach from United yet, but he is likely to be on the market so we’ll see if Premier League clubs think he might be a good short-term fix, though there’s also interest in Turkey and in Ligue 1.

‘Al Nassr would certainly entertain an offer but are yet to receive one yet.’

Ajax forward Mohammed Kudus is another player United are being linked with. He is known to be a favourite of Erik ten Hag as the pair worked with each other in the Netherlands.

Fichajes are reporting that Ajax have ‘put a crazy price’ on Kudus this month.

The Ghana attacker is under contract until 2025 and ‘they have already warned that